


The Light That Shows the Way

by Cott



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Abuse, F/M, Female Reader, Fluff and Angst, I'm sorry for the slow updates, Minor Violence, My First Undertale Fanfic, No Smut, POV Second Person, Past Suicide Attempt, Real life sucks, Slow To Update, Triggers, Veteran!Grillby, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-15 17:59:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5794294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cott/pseuds/Cott
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are a high-schooler, and you had been in your tenth grade when monsters came out from the underground. The monsters live in the so-called "Monster District", and you hate it. You are in your eleventh grade now. It's in the middle of winter, and your mother has kicked you out because you stood up for monsters. You have been camping out on the streets, when you meet someone who will change your life.</p><p>##On Hiatus for now. Sorry for the late notice, a lot changed in my life since my last update...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When Help is Needed, Help Will Come

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not that familiar with American/British school schedules. There may be poor references to anything school-related. I beg for your understanding.  
> Any references made will be based upon my experience in Korea for now. I'll try to look up info for better refs.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Grillby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12 hours haven't even passed, and I have kudos.  
> WOW.  
> Incredible, and thanks a lot for your support!  
> Gerson may be a little OOC in this chapter.  
> It'a little too short, but as I need to go somewhere(it's 7:50 in the morning here!), I'll have to cut it short.  
> May add some more later on.

You sigh.

It was the second week since you mother had kicked you out, and you were quickly tiring.

At first, you had gone to your father, but he also kicked you out a week later when he called your mom and heard the reason why she booted you out. Your parents were divorced, and both blamed it on you. They were both alcoholics, and they usually brought the brunt of it upon you. You grew up with almost next-to-none parental love, so you poured all of the frustration and anger into your studies. As a result you were the top of your class during your entire schooling period. However, the constant violence at home did a lot on your ego, and when some bulies found out about your background, you became their target.

Monsters had surfaced about a year and a half ago. There had been riots, people calling out to chase them off, but your government accepted them. But as people didn't want to go near them, the monsters were forced to live in different districts from the humans. Even this was achieved by a long conversation between the monster's ambassador and the president. You had a healthy respect for the ambassador. They were only a kid, and selectively mute to boot, but they did a good job on helping the monsters.

Your parents and the bullies hated the monsters. As a matter of fact, almost half of your school hated them. It was one of the reasons that you were bullied. They had caught you helping some dogs carrying stuff(they introduced themselves as Dogamy and Dogaressa), and their bullying became more intense after that. You came home with more and more bruises, and odd cuts that you couldn't explain to your mother. When she kicked you out, she had lost her temper while drinking, and you had had enough. You said a few words to her, and she kicked you out after that with only some of your belongings in a suitcase.

So here you were, in the so-called 'Monster District', where the bullies wouldn't follow. They were monster-haters, so they wouldn't try to come here even if they wanted to harass you. Or so you thought.

You had constructed a shelter with your extra clothes, and it was currently hidden in one of the darker alleyways. You had been applying for any part-time job, but you had failed miserably. Just when you were rounding the block second-nearest to your makeshift shelter, you heard a very familiar voice.

"Huh, looks like he's done for. Ain't it right, Hans?"  
"Yup, that little fire freak won't live after this!"  
Malicious laughter rang from the nearest ally. You ran there instictively, without thinking.  
A little flame was surrounded by your school bullies. It seemed to have a life, as it was wearing a currently soaked vest and black pants. It was trembling violently. The bullies had a bucket full of ice-cold water in their hands, and some snow was floating in it.

You saw red. You ran into the circle of very surprised bullies, picked up the fire, and escaped before the bullies noticed you. You never noticed the fire looking surprised when his flames didn't burn you. When you saw a open shop, you almost cried with relief. You dashed into the shop, and closed the door behind you.

"Hey, what's the hurry, young one? Someone chasing you?"  
The owner, a very old turtle, asked you from behind. You jumped a feet into the air. He chuckled.  
"I don't bite, young lady. Look around, and buy whatever you want."  
"O-oh, thanks..."  
You tucked the flame into the pocket of your coat. With the limited funds you had, you couldn't spend more than ten to fifteen dollars a day. You picked up some water, gas for your burner, some bread and with some thought, cotton. You paid and took the shortest way to your shelter.

When you arrived at your shelter, you immediately scooped out the tiny flame. It seemed to be made entirely out of fire. How it kept its clothes on was beyond you. It was currently steaming off, probably from the heat of its body and the wetness of its clothes. It was also sleeping, and its body was shaking from its shivering. Its head was giving out a red, weak light, flickering sporadically. You gently dabbed off the clothes with your cotton, and made a smal nest with the rest. You then slowly put down the flame in the middle. You were surprised, at first, when the flames weren't hot but you supposed it was because it was a monster with magic. You covered it up with the sleeve of one of your extra jackets, and started to prepare to sleep yourself. As you curled up, you noticed snow staring to fall. You immediately pulled the flame closer to you, and cuddled up around it, protecting it from the snow and cold. As you fell asleep, a plesant warmth engulfed you. You had the best sleep that you had in two weeks.


	2. Flame Awakens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby wakes up! (And tries to explains the situation by typing.)  
> Sans appears. A worried skeleton is out to find you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya.  
> I'm back!!  
> Grillby typing will be represented as {text}

You woke up the next day by the soft crackling of a fire, and a comforting warmth. You rubbed your eyes, and stifled a yawn. Then what happened yesterday hit you with a force of a freight train. You turned quickly to check on the fire. Thankfully it was still sleeping. The flame, which had been a dull red yesterday, was burning a bright orange and yellow. You heard it making a small noise in its sleep, and smiled. It must be tired after yesterday's events, you mused, and went to clean up and change in the nearest bathroom.

When you finished washing and changing, you found that the little fire had woke up. It was looking around in what you thought surprise and curiosity. When you entered your tent, it jumped and quickly turned to face you.

"Oh, you're awake! How are you? Do you need anything?" You asked in relief. The fire seemed terrified, and backed up. It turned its head, probably to find exits. You sighed.

"Um, look, I don't want to hurt you." At this statement, he turned to face you again. You continued. "Those people who were pouring water on you, they're on my bad side. I was worried when I saw you on the ground, so I took you and escaped. I don't wish any kind of harm inflicted on you, ok? I was just out to change my clothes."

The fire seemed to relax at this, and scooted back to its original posture. You smiled, and digged in your backpack to find the bread you bought yesterday. You broke it into pieces, and gave one to the fire. It recieved it cautiously and tenatively nibbled off a bit of it. You ate your piece of bread while watching it.

The flame that was its head waved around lazily while it nibbled. It apparently had miniscule square glasses, so you supposed its eyes were hidden behind it. When it finished eating, he hopped up and walked to you. Or it tried to. It took only a few steps before its legs surrendered and it fell down. You were horrified and picked it up from his nest.

"Sheesh, are you okay? Mabye you should stay here, little guy." You buttoned up your coat, and placed it gently in the nook where it was cuddled safely, protected from the harsh weather.

"Um, it looks like it's still snowing... D'you have your place? I'll take you there." You suggested to the small flame. It looked up at you, brightened up, and nodded. You grinned.  
"Then, let's go and take you home!"

'Home' turned out to be not that far. When you got out of the alley, you felt a faint tugging. The flame pointed towards one of the closed shops. The sign above read 'Grillby's'. You blinked.

"Uh, you live there?" It nodded.  
"In... a bar?" It shook its head, and pointed upwards. You saw it was actually a two-story building.

"Ah, you live on the second floor... But how the heck do you get up there? Your'e so small!" The fire shook its head, and gestured with its hands. It repeated itself three times before you got the meaning.

"Oh, so you were bigger than this, but when you got drenched, you got smaller?" It nodded. You got the distant feeling it was relieved. You looked at the building, and found a problem.

"But you can't go in like this, can you? You can't open the doors...." You trailed off when the flame shot blue fire out of its fingertips. The fire touched the door, and it swung open silently. Your jaw dropped.

"Ohmygodthatwasamazing!" You said in one breath. "That was absolutely fantastic!" You gushed while you stepped inside, shutting the door behind you. You locked it again for good measure, and looked around.  
The bar was clean, and organized. It looked like someone really cared for it. You stood there gaping.

"Amazing bar. Your'e the owner then?" The fire nodded one again. "That's so cool!" You stared at the flame wistfully before continuing upstairs. The little fire shot green flames from its fingertips, and the door connected to his apartment swung open. You shook your head, marveling at the fire.

The house was just like the bar-clean, sparsely furnished, and well-cared for. Your heart ached at seeing such a nice place, but you had to go. You set down the fire at the table, and turned to leave. However, a faint wooshing noise accompanied with a pull on your sleeve made you look back down. The flame was tugging on your sleeve.

"You...want me to stay?" It nodded faintly. You smiled in relief. "Um, okay... But what should I do? I can't just stay doing nothing- do I have to do something to make you, er, grown up?" The fire crackled, and ran over to a laptop situated on yhe side of the table. It turned the laptop on, and started to type on a blank sheet. You thought the fire running around the keys and jumping on them to press them was cute, but didn't mention it. 

"{I need the black liquid in the cupboard over there. It will help speed up my healing process}..." You read. You immediately got up and looked in the cupboard. You found a vial full of black goop, and took it to the panting flame.

"Is this it?" You asked. It nodded, and you gently helped the fire drink it. You panicked at first, as you couldn't see its mouth, but then you found another way. You brought one of the spoons over, and poured some of the liquid into it. You held it to its head, and by some miracle, the substance slowly disappeared. The fire leaned back, its flame flickering brighter than before.

"Feel better?" You asked it nodded, and ran over the keyboards again. "{Need to drink that twelve hours later for complete health recovery}... So then, do I need to stay here until then?" It violently shook its head. {Can you bring me to my room? I need space for regrowth. It would not be safe for you to be near me while I do this.} "Oh... then I'll bring you to your room, and get going. I have job applications to do, anyway." You forced a smile on your face at the thought of leaving the comfy place, and brought the fire to where it pointed. You set it on the bed.

"I'm leaving that vial on the table, alright? And if you need me, you know where to find me. I'll be there twelve hours from now, so come over then if you want to. OK? Now I should get going." You stood up, and made for the door. You looked back once, gave a small wave to the fire, and ran out. As soon as you stepped out, you immediately regretted it. The icy wind made your teeth chatter. You cursed, and left the town to find a job once again. Sure, you could try to find a job within the Monster District, but you felt like you were taking their jobs away. You knew that people didn't want to employ monsters, so they had few places to work. You didn't want to intrude.

When the time you had promised to the fire arrived, you were exausted. Job-seeking still had no success, and you were really running low on funds. You went up to the bar, and knocked.  
"I'm here... D'you need anything?" You heard nothing. Remembering that its house was upstairs, you sighed. You couldn't go up there. You had no way to contact it, and you were worried for its well-being.

You gave up after twenty minutes of standing in front of the door. You turned to go back to your shelter, when you were slammed to the door by a invisible force. You choked, completely winded. "Wha-"

"*hey, kiddo."

A skeleton was standing in front of you. Its eyesockets were empty, but the left one had a strange bluish glow coming out of it. That's when you noticed your body was glowing with the same blue color of his eyesocket.

"*i haven't seen you in town lately, so you must be a newcomer. heh... but that dosen't explain why you, a human, are here while the owner has gone missing. don't you agree, human?"

The last word was spoken with spite, as if the skeleton had personally been offended by humans. You struggled against the power holding you, trying to escape. It only made the skeleton smile impossibly wider.

**"*d o y o u w a n n a h a v e a b a d t i m e?"**


	3. Misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader is terrified of Sans.  
> It won't help him.  
> Grillby is back to his body! Hooray!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, I've been busy with reports, or things like thatT.T  
> I have to write like 4 of them, and I have only one month to finish all of them...  
> I'm screwed haha

You were terrified of the whole situation. 

You had been in a similar position before. Your drunk father had had too many drinks one night, and he had tried to throttle you with his bare hands. You had only escaped by scratching his hand, making him reel back in pain. You had slept outside for the following two days.

You were forcibly reminded of that particular day when the skeleton pinned you to the door. Heck, it was a lot more scarier than that, because he(at least, judging from its voice) was holding you there with magic. Your vision overlapped with the past, and you unconsiously tried to pull imaginary hands off your neck while taking short, panicked breaths.

But then the skeleton suddenly looked upwards. He cursed, and let go of you suddenly. You fell coughing to the ground. He seemed to take no notice of you, as he kept staring at the window of the house upstairs. You also looked up, and gasped.

Lights that suspiciously looked like flames danced in them. The glow lit up the surrounding darkness, acting like a streetlamp. The skeleton cursed again, loudly. "*shit! something must've happened to grillby... there's no way his room would light up like that if not for..." His eyes widened as he trailed off. He looked asolutely horrified.

"*oh god i need to go there right now! i just need to find the spare keys..." He rumaged in his pockets and came up with a brand-new looking key. He opened the door. You stumbled up, and tried to get out of the place. But the force that had held you captive once more stopped you in your tracks. You trembled as the skeleton pulled you closer to him.

"*where d'you think your'e going? i have a bone to pick with you, kid." You were almost dragged in by the force. The skeleton climbed the stairs to Grillby's apartment. You were bundled up, tears slowly falling down your eyes as you were terrified of the short skeleton right in front of you. 

"*grillby! are you okay?! can you hear me?" The skeleton yelled at the locked front door. You cringed. You were sensitive to loud noises after years of abuse. The skeleton kept knocking on the door. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the skeleton grumbled, and did a small jump. You felt the space around you constrict, and squeezed your eyes shut. When the feeling disappeared a second later, you cautiously opened your eyes, and gasped in surprise. You were in Grillby's house!

"*i should have done this from the start.. what a bonehead i am..." You heard the skeleton mutter. You frowned. Was that a pun? But before you could start to explain yourself, you were forced to kneel on the ground. Bones as sharp as knives materialized above your chest. You gulped. "*if you move just one inch, kid, you'll be dead where you are. i'm going to check on grillby." The skeleton disappeared into the room you had put the flame into earlier. You were frozen to the ground, sobbing silently.

After quite a while, and a lot of low whispers, the skeleton emerged. But this time, he hade someone with him-and that person was made of fire. You stared.

The cute little flame that you had saved yesterday was gone. In its place, a tall and smartly dressed man stood in front of you. He was slim, but he didn't look like he was just skinny- he seemed stronger than his apperance suggested. The fire-man looked quite tired, but when he saw you, his flames shot up until it almost touched the ceiling. It burned a deep red, and he turned to the skeleton. A crackling sound filled the room, and the skeleton flinched a little.

"*uh, grillbz? ya don't need to get all heated up about the kid. i can explain-" He was cut off by swift hand-motions by Grillby. You had never learned sign language, so you didn't know what was being exchanged between the two, but you hoped that Grillby had recognized you. When Grillby finished moving hands, the skeleton looked equal parts horrified and mortified.

"*i'm sorry! i don't- i didn't know-" The bones disappeared, and the force immobilising you dissipated. You fell to the ground with a gasp. When the skeleton reached out to help you up, you backed up quickly, terror in your eyes. You tried to stand up, but your legs failed you. You curled into a ball, waiting for the blow to come, as it had over all the years. But instead of a kick, or a punch, a warm hand scooped you up from the ground. You let out a squeak from sheer surprise. It was Grillby. He had you in his arms, and he walked over to his room to put you on his bed. You stopped freaking out enought for you to recognize the room. Your face heated up.

"You-you don't have to-" Grillby put a finger over the general area where his lips would be if he were human. You stopped talking at once. He covered you up with the blankets, and left the room, shutting the door behind him. You stayed put in the bed, afraid to anger both monsters. You heard a much bigger crackling of fire, and the surprised yelps of pain from the skeleton. Eventually, you fell asleep from sheer exaustion. You never knew that Grillby came into the room much later, dragging a thoroughly sizzled skeleton behind him. He checked on you, dumped the skeleton out, and looked at you to see if you were sleeping well. Satisfied, he went to sleep on the sofa.

You woke up the next day in cold sweat. You had dreamt of your parents tormenting you- but this time it was different from other dreams that you had had before. Your father had summoned bones and was pointing it like a spear at you. The scene shifted-and your mother stood there, blue magic making her left eye light up. You backed away, but son hit the wall. You had given up, awaiting your fate. You had woken up at that exact moment. You shivered in the bed, despite the warmth. When you registered the fact that you were in an actual bed, you shot up from it. Stumbling, you managed to locate the door, and jerked it open.

You found the fire-man sleeping on the sofa with a book in his hand. You felt a pang of guilt at having the homeowner sleep on his sofa while you, a mere guest, slept on his bed. You sat down besides him, and waited for him to wake up. To your credit, it didn't take long for him to get up. With incoherent mumbling, the man groggily got up. His flames shot up once again when his glasses turned to your direction. You took that in as surprise. He motioned at you to get up, and you stood up to follow him as he went into the kitchen. He made you sit at the table, while he busied himself at the stove. You buried your head in your arms, and stayed like that until a soft touch pulled you out of your thoughts.

Grillby had placed a plate of pancakes in front of you. The smell was absolutely delicious, and your mouth began to water at the prospect of good food after two weeks of near starvation. You looked up at him. "You... made this for me?" He nodded. "Oh wow... Thanks!" You picked up the fork on the plate, and proceeded to down the entire plate in one go. You were so focused on your plate that you missed Grillby eating his.

"That was really good!" You chimed after devouring yhe dish. The fire man burned a little brighter, and bowed slightly, hints of blue appearing where his cheek would be. You blinked. Was that a blush? But before you could ask him, he took your plate away. You just stared at him for a moment, and then jumped up to help him.

"Hey- I'll clean them, it's the least I can do." Grillby shook his head, and put them in the dishwasher. He then pulled you gently away, to where his laptop was. He opened it, turned on a memo pad, and began to type.

{I believe I owe you an explanation. I'll start from the events that led you to me.} You scooted closer to him. Grillby kept typing. {I was putting out the trash when I was ambushed. They snuck up and poured water on me as I was returning to my bar. I had no time to react as my damage was too much for me to handle. I was near death when you found me. I can never thank you enough for that.}  
You blushed. When Grillby stopped typing, a small question came to your mind. "What's the deal with the skeleton? He seemed awfully protective of you."

{Sans, he} Grillby paused for a second. {is my friend and best customer. He is just overprotective. I'm sorry for what happened. Ever since we moved overground...} He trailed off. You didn't push him. You had enough experiences with pushy people to become one of them.

"Okay... Um, thanks for everything, but I feel that I've intruded enough." You stood up, ignoring the protest from your head and aching body. "I don't want to bother you anymore... So I'll get going. Thanks, for letting me stay overnight and the best breakfast I've had in weeks." You were thankful that you came here with nothing on you. You put your coat on, and gave a wave to Grillby, who just tilted his head and gave you a small wave. You were blasted with the ice-cold wind as you stepped out of the apartment. You shivered as you returned to your small tent.

"Howe sweet home," you muttered. You gathered up what meager posessions you had, and packed them into our suitcase. You left that particular spot, and went into another small alley, this time further away from Grillby's than your previous occupation. You didn't want him to find you like you found him two days ago. He would probabaly try to help you, and you didn't want to inconvenience him. You set up camp again, feeling the cold even more than before.

Three days passed like that. You avoided going near Grilby's place at all costs. Strangely, although you had barely known him for two days, and you hadn't even heard his voice, you felt like he cared for you. You blushed, thinking of his warm hands when he carried you to his room.

You had also finally earned a job. You worked as a cashier at the mart just outside the Monster District. You had persuaded the kind mart owner to hire you for two days, after finding it on the day you woke up at Grillby's. She had agreed to hire you, on the conditions that you worked for no more than twenty hours a week. You gladly agreed, happy to have an income at last.

You didn't expect to meet a certain fiery bartender there.


	4. New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby is a true gentleman!  
> He is so kind to the Reader.  
> Reader also has a mental breakdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two days before I go to school again!(Even if it's only for a week and then we graduateXD)

It was your second day on the job. The owner, a kind old lady who was thankfully acceptive of monsters, had employed you to work in the night shift-7p.m. to 11p.m.- for four hours every day minus weekends. You were happy to see that humans and monsters mingled freely here. It was so different from the news and the sort. You thought you even saw the monster's ambassador once, but you were too busy with your work to check it out.

"That would be thirty dollars, sir!" You chirped. Your shift was almost over, and the man in front of you was your last customer. He handed you three ten-dollar bills, but when you tried to take them, his hands closed around yours. You looked at the man's face in surprise-  
And found a blazing fire right in front of your eyes. Your jaw dropped.

"G-Grillby?!" He seemed pleased that you remembered him, as the flames that made up his head glowed brighter. You hadn't noticed him because he was wearing a hat that concealed his head. "Oh-um, I..." You struggled to come up with something to say, but failed. Thankfully, your employer called you from across the store. "Sweetie, your shift's over! We're going to close!" "Okay, Mrs. Shears!" You called back. Grillby hadn't let go of your hand yet. He tugged at you, and when you looked at him, made some gestures with his hands. You frowned, trying to decipher what he was saying.

"You want me to come with you?" He nodded. You blushed for no apparent reason. "But... It's too late, and you'll only be bothered..." He shook his head at that comment. You sighed, and nodded your consent. He gathered up his purchases while you recieved his payment. You led him to the staff room, and told him to wait outside.

You changed clothes inside. You caught a reflection of your body in the mirror beside you, and let out a much bigger sigh. You had barely healed cuts and bruises all over your body. Some were by bullies, some were by your parents. Only the cuts on your left wrist were self-inflicted. You had tried to commit suicide about a month and a half ago, tired with the constant abuse. You woke up in the hospital with your left wrist swathed in bandages. By your bedside was surprisingly, your mother. She had brought you to the hospital when she found you on the floor of the kitchen, a kitchen knife coated with blood next to your right hand. You were released after steadily pleading with your doctor for that whole week. You soon regretted that choice, as your mother, who had taken good care of you while you were in the hospital, turned on you. She went right back to using you as a personal punching bag- and you hated every moment of it.

You finished changing clothes and came out of the staff room. Grillby was where you left him, typing away on his phone. You secretly felt a pang of envy. You had a phone, once- before things went downhill rapidly. When you came out, he immediately stopped typing and looked at you. You answered to the implored question. "Um, let's go? Since I'm done changing?" He nodded, and turned to make his way out. You followed him thinking 'what have I gotten into' repeatedly in your head.

You took the road to Grillby's apartment. He opened the doors with keys, and you secretly questioned the flames that you saw the other day. He ushered you in. The house really looked _'homey'_ \- not like your house, but the ones you saw on TV, where everyone was happy and had a great family. Your eyes stung with that thought, and you hurridly wiped your eyes while Grillby wasn't looking. He hung his coat on the coatrack, and you copied his movements. You both went to sit on the sofa.

"So... what's the matter? Why did you call me today?" You asked him, your curiosity peaking. It was almost midnight, after all, and not a time to have friendly chit-chat with someone you barely knew. Grillby typed something on his phone-damn, he was really fast!- and gave it to you. {Your things were not at the spot I woke up. I was worried about you.} "Oh..." Your cheeks heated up. "Thanks... for worrying..." You just sat there for a moment, staring at your lap. Then a point came to your mind. "But, why are you so caring for me? I'm basically nobody that just saved you by pure chance."

{You remind me of my niece.} He was now just showing you the screen as he typed. {She has just finished high school, and is enrolled in one of our universities. I practically raised her, as both her parents were dead, caught in a freak accident near Waterfall.} You wondered what 'Waterfall' was. You also got the feeling that you wouldn't like the direction that the conversation was going. {She was only three when it happened.} He paused there, loaded a new notepad, and typed out the one sentence that you didn't want to see.  
{Are your parents..?}

You knew there was no way out of this situation without either bluffing or telling the truth. You decided on the truth. Grillby was watching you intently.

"I've been kicked out." The words quickly tumbled from your mouth. "My parents-they're divorced, it's been that way since I was thirteen. They were clashing even before the divorce-all I did was cry pathethically in the corner or hide in my room with the doors locked when they did. Mom always hit me when she was drunk, screaming bloody murder that it was all my fault that she fought with dad, and dad was the same, and-" Your throat constricted, and you were pulled under a sea of emotions, unable to say anything. You dimly registered Grillby tenatively reaching out to hug you, and you practically grabbed him, tears flowing freely as you let out the bottled up pain and sorrow in one go. You had been desperate for help-not just physical, but emotional help, which you hadn't recieved for almost seven years. Even someone you met just a few days ago was good enough for you to open up and let your emotions go. Especially since that certain person had been kind enough to think that you needed help. And he felt safe.

You jerked awake the next day. You were once again in a bed. You remembered the night's events, and silently screamed into the pillow. You were totally embarrassed by your actions. You had cried into a man whom you had barely known for god knows how long. You felt your face heat up with embarassment. Then, you remembered that there was only one bed in the house, and you were currently nestled in it. You shot up like a spring. When you ventured out to the living room, however, you found no one there. Instead, you heard the sound of sizzling, and went to the kitchen. Grillby was making breakfast again-and by the sound and smell, eggs and bacon. The smell was heavenly. Your stomach betrayed you at that moment to signal that it was empty. You blushed. Grillby turned to look at you. He tipped his head in the overly cute manner, and brought two platters of eggs and bacon over to the table. You once more thanked him, and inhaled the food as quickly as you could. It was simply too delicious to slowly eat.

"Ahhhh...." You leaned back in your chair. "Your cooking is wonderful, Grillby." You saw his face going a shade lighter, and a faint blue spreading across his features. Yup, definetly a blush. He gave you a short bow, and took the plates away. You watched him as he moved; he was still in his bartender clothes. "Aren't you uncomfortable in that? I mean, it looks great on you, but it looks quite stiff." Grillby just shook his head, his face more going to the color of blue. You saw the conversation starting to flow an akward way, and you tried to salvage it.

"Um, can I ask you something?" You tried to salvage the akward situation. Grillby nodded at you, his flames burning in a curious way. "Can... you talk?" His face, of rather his flames darkened at this, returning to its orange hue. You backpedaled quickly, dropping your gaze. "Oh no-I'm sory, you don't have to answer that, it was incredibly stupid of me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." you were about to fall into another panic attack, but a warm hand was placed on your shoulder. You looked up to see the fire-man showing you his phone. {I cannot tell you this now. But mabye later, I will. Right now, let's talk about something else. For instance, where you will live.}

You rubbed your eyes. You looked at the screen again. You frowned. "Where I will live? Of course I'll live where I did until now. I can't stay here for an indefinite time. I'll just go back..." Grillby gestured behind him. You peeked around him, and saw your suitcase. Your jaw dropped.  
"What...?! How, how did you find them?" You immediately came up with an answer. "Did you search the alleys while I was sleeping?!" You expected him to shake his head, or sign no. Instead, he nodded. You were horrified and flattered at this. "Oh my god, Grillby, you..." You started to sniffle as raw emotions forced up your throat. You rubbed harshly at your eyes. When you dropped your arms back down, Grillby handed his phone to you.

{You can live with me.} That simple sentence caused you to almost drop the device in shock. This man-well, monster- had shown you more kindness than your parents, and he was even providing you a roof to live under. You couldn't believe it. A small part of your brain was saying 'Hell yeah!', another was saying 'No I can't!!'. A relatively smaller part suggested that this was all a dream, and told you to check it. Heeding it, you pinched your arm hard to see if it wasn't a realistic dream. The stining pain assured you that you weren't. You gave out a small _'ouch'_ at the pain. You felt a light tapping on your shoulder, and looked up to see Grillby looking at you, flames crackling sporadically. You interpreted that as worry. "Ah, I'm not hurt, I was just checking if this isn't a dream." He drew back, flames calming down. You thought this was cute, but didn't mention it.

"Um, can you give me a sec?" He nodded. You sighed, and started the battle inside your head. After a long pause, the winner was chosen. You once more looked up at Grillby, this time smiling with your whole heart. "If you're really okay with this... then yes, I would like to." He brightened up at your words, flames burning bigger and more whiter. However, you had one more thing to say. "And I'm taking the sofa, no arguments on that. Alright?" He looked ready to protest, shaking his head, but you grabbed his hand. "Hey, I've agreed to stay here- at least grant me that, I can't have the host sleep on the sofa while I sleep on his bed." He reluctantly agreed to this, although he didn't seem happy about it. You, on the other hand, was grinning. You felt slightly guilty, of course, but you had a roof to live under, and you wouldn't have to shiver while you sleep.

Things were finally starting to look up in your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The relationship btw Grillby and you will slowly burn to love, don't worry! It's just starting out as pity and protectiveness.  
> Oh, and Readers!  
> Please give me your opinion on the length of my chapters-are they too short?  
> And, do you want me to include Grillby's POV every now and then?


	5. Friend Networking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your group expands, little by little. You discover that Sans isn't all that scary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the hiatus!! Real life involving a camp for three days, two birthdays(including mine) and three reports completely winded me up:(  
> To sum up the updates, I'm afraid it will get slower-once every two weeks or so. I found out that my new school takes away our mobiles when we start our day(8:10am) and gives them back after school finishes(10:30pm) so writing this will become much harder. Once again, I apologize for the late update!!

A week had passed since you moved into Grillby's house. Your life had started to fall into a routine; you got up, he made you breakfast(you never got up before him; he was always awake when you got up), you each did your own things, he made you lunch and opened his bar. You mostly studied, or took a walk around the town. Then you went to your part-time job. You never set foot inside Grillby's bar while he was working-you thought he would be bothered, and you were underage anyway. But one day, you decided to, as you were curious how he worked and so.

"Um, Grillby?" He turned around to see you while balancing two plates laden with salad and carbonara on his hands. He set them on the table where you were sitting, tilting his head very gently. You loved him when he did that, it was so cute. "Can I come over to your bar today?" {I don't see why not.} His words lifted your soul. You were kinda worried about one thing, though. "Is it really okay? I mean, I'm still underage and I'm not allowed to drink and..." you trailed off as Grillby placed a hand on yours. Your heart beat just a tiny bit faster.

{Frisk can come in, and they're only 12. Is that enough?} Your face brightened up. "Oh! Yeah, that's certainly enough!" Grillby's flames got a little taller, and his face turned a little more whiter. You both then turned to lunch. After a filling meal as always, you dressed up. Even if you only had a select few in your pile, you wanted to look smart for him. After all, you _were_ living with him.

Grillby was setting up the bar when you went down to it, holding your studying material in one hand. The chairs were down, and he was cleaning the tables. You sat down on a stool near the counter, and watched him, flicking your pencil occasionally. He moved with a certain grace, like he was following a rhythm. It almost looked like he was dancing. You must have spaced out, because the next moment you were being gently shaked by a concerned Grillby. It was 1:00 p.m., the time he opens his bar. You blinked.

"Oh... Did I space out? Sorry, I was a little distracted." By you, you wanted to add, but refrained to. He shook his head, and flipped on the lights in his bar, unlocking the door at the same time. Soon, a group of dogs came in, talking among themselves animatedly. They stopped dead when they saw you at the counter. You stared at each other for a long time, saying nothing. It was a pair of dogs that you thought was familiar that broke the silence.

"Well-"

"who do we have here?"

"Isn't that the human-"

"that helped us move our boxes?"

Oh. No wonder they looked familiar, they were the dog couple that you helped move some boxes a while ago. You smiled at them nervously. "Um- hi, I guess?" The other dog barked a greeting. They kindly invited you over to their table, and you took up their offer, a little apprehension lingering in your mind. Grillby came and took their order, only hesitating for a moment when he saw you there. You smiled at him, showing that you were okay, amd he hurried off, his flames burning a little brighter.

The dogs took their time introducing themselves. The big one was named Greater Dog, and the couple was, as you had known, Dogamy and Dogaressa. They apparently enjoyed playing poker, as Greater Dog had pulled out a pack and was setting up the game. They offered you thw cards, but you declined, never having learnt how to. You were just watching them playing when the couple talked to you.

"So, how"

"did you come here, miss?"

"You're the first human"

"we've seen here."

Dogamy and Dogaressa asked. You thought for a moment. Should you tell them your current living arrangement? You decided against it, and instead replied: "I work around here- you know that mart at the edge of the town? I'm a cashier there at weekdays every night."

"Oh-"

"that mart!"

"We go there"

"all the time."

Soon, the topic of the talk flowed to your work. You were more than happy to tell them about your job; how the customers were, what you did, the small things you notice everyday... You were so engrossed in the talk that when Grillby approached you, you didn't notice him. Only when he set the food down on the table did you notice him. You almost jumped right out of your seat. Grillby caught you before you could hit the table and make a general mess, and you were grateful for it. You gave him a big smile, and he blushed blue a little. When he disappeared to serve some other monsters, you studied the food and found that there was one more drink than ordered. You frowned.

"Guys? Did one of you order strawberry punch? Because I definetely didn't." Greater Dog shook his head, and the dog couple answered at the same time that they didn't. You gently brought the glass that smelt of strawberry close to you. There was a small real strawberry on the rim with sprinkles on the top, and it looked absolutely tasty. You suddenly got a sneaking suspicion about why it appeared on your table. You looked over at Grillby, and grinned at him, swirling your glass a little. He inclined his head a little. You smiled bigger, and proceeded to drink the liquid. It was perfect- a strong scent of the fruit, a slight fizz accompanying it. It wasn't overly sweet like the ones sold in shops, too. "How did he know?" You half-whispered to yourself. You didn't recall telling him that you loved strawberries or fizzy drinks. You pondered over that as you slowly sipped the drink. Suddenly, a not-quite conversation that you had a few days before came to your mind.

'Hey, Grillby, d'you have a favourite drink?' You had asked him this question after you saw him drinking some amber liquid(probably some kind of alcoholic drink, you thought). He seemed to think this over as he downed the last few drops. {Coffee. What about you?} 'Me? Um... Anythig with strawberries. It's my favourite fruit! And fizzy drinks. I don't like the overly-sugary taste that comes with most, but I guess I have to put up with that. I'd rather drink carbonated water but they're just... well, more expensive than the sugary ones.'

He had remembered that talk. He had ACTUALLY taken care to remember an offhand comment by you and made you the drink. It was a very considerate gesture, and you felt your heart flutter with embarassment. Just then, you heard the bar door open. Setting down the drink, you turned in your seat to get a better loot at the person. You were immensely glad to have done so, because everyone in the bar shouted "SANS!!" in their loudest voice. You almost fell down as you jumped. Only Dogaressa's quick intervention saved you from that fate.

"Who's that?" You asked Dogaressa, as you could only see the back of the person. She exclaimed softly, "Oh! That's Sans- he's the regular here. And he makes the worst puns, too." You swiveled to look at the newcomer again. The figure seemed vaguely familiar, but you couldn't figure out why. When he turned to see you, you gasped as the realization hit you like a 8-ton truck.

He was Sans. As in, Sans the skeleton... and Grillby's friend. You saw his eyesockets widen(how?!), and he started walking towards you. You freaked out and ran from the bar, totally terrified of what the skeleton would do to you. You ran blindly, bot noticing where you were going, when you bumped into something-or someone-. You looked up to see what it was.

Your heart almost stopped. Sans was looking at you, the little light in his eyes pulsing softly. You just stood there, afraid to even move. He sighed, closing his eyes. You waited for him to say something-anything- when he just put his head in his hands. "*look, sorry for scaring you back then. i have this stupid paranoia for my friends, so i just... snapped, as one would say." He laughed a bitter, hollow laugh. "*i had no right to terrorize you like that. will... will you forgive me?" At this point, his eyes were pleading, and his tone was filled with so much remorse and sorrow for you to ignore. You gulped, and hoped that you wouldn't regret your actions later. You reached out...

And grabbed his hand. The skeleton looked at you, completely surprised. You smiled a pained but genuine smile. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?" Sans nodded so fast that his head became a blur. You didn't know that it was even possible to do that. He released your hand, suddenly blushing, mumbling '*sorry' nervously. You shook your head, the nervousness still in your system. He looked right into your eyes-you weren't even the same hight, how does he **do** it-and smiled.(wasn't it impossible for skeletons to smile?) "*want to take a shortcut back to grillby's? i know a real quick one." It was then that you realized that you had run to somewhere in the woods during your blunder. You nodded. Sans grabbed your hand, told you to close your eyes, and took a step forward.

Suddenly your eyes were blasted with light that was definetely not there a moment ago. You blinked your eyes open, surprised by the brightness. You were right in front of Grillby's bar. You turned to Sans, shocked. "Was that..." "*a shortcut." He said stonily. You dropped the subject for now, but were still shocked. Sans could teleport. The ability that every other SF thriller character has. Sans tugged lightly on your hand, and you shook out of your shock, following him in. You were greeted by another round of "SANS!!" but this time, punctuated with wispers and mutters.

You quickly crossed the area between the door and Grillby, and sat down near him. He immediately put down the cup he was cleaning unconsiously, taking hold of your hand, typing furiously with the other. {Are you OK?} You thought the way he was worrying about you was adorable. You said that you were okay, nothing's wrong, and you made peace with Sans. Grillby twitched a little on hearing Sans' name. You hurriedly assured him that Sans did nothing to you. He squeezed your hand slightly, making you giggle. A customer called him then, and he let go of your hand apologtically. You waved off his unspoken apology, watching him make his way over to the customer. Soon your head was on the countertop, and you fell into the bliss of sleep.


	6. Back to School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to school as winter break is over. An event happens. Grillby saves you, again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so,so sorry for the one-month delay!!  
> Schoolwork has kept me busy for a long time, and midterms are coming up already- son the next update may be more slower than this.  
> I am terribly sorry for the late update!

You dreaded the day that school opened again. You didn't want to be ridiculed, scorned, and on top of that, bullied. Grillby's seemed to have become something like the home you lost a long time ago. His comforting presence along with his genuine interest in your well-being helped you feel happy again. The bitterness that had dominated your emotions was slowly fading away. The day bwfore your school started, you were in the bar, drinking your way through a lot of hot chocolate. Grillby stopped cleaning his glass and came over to you. It was late, and you had to sleep early considering the fact that your school was a good 40 minute's walk from Grillby's. You sighed, looking at the clock behind his head.

"Is it already that time?" You asked. He just nodded, his flames dimmer than before. You leaned over, giving him a quick peck on his cheek. He almost jumped a foot high, making you giggle. He had been put out that you refused to let him drive you over to your school. He would just be the object of hate, and you didn't want the sweet guy to feel the harsh discrimination of the school.  
"Are you actually sad that I will be leaving here for the day?" You asked. Grillby blushed right to the tip of his flames, burning a bright blue before returning to his normal state. You almost squealed when you saw him lile that. He quickly shook his head, scribbling something down on a nearby napkin with a pen.

{I am merely worried about your safety, dear.} You laugh softly. "Hey, there's nothing you need to worry about. It isn't like I'm going into a war zone or something." He flinched softly, which made you instantly guilty. You reached out to him, but he shied away from your touch reflexibly. You were a little hurt by his actions- Did he no longer want you near him? Why was he acting like this? You decided to ask him-you were worried about his reaction.

"Grillby? Why- Did I say something wrong? What's wrong?" Yout worried voice made the bartender look up at you, his flames flickering mare than ever. He clearly seemed distressed, and when his hand came up to grip the pen that he was writing with, it was shaking badly. {It's nothing. Just memories.}

Memories? You frowned, but then remembered your own bad experiences and immediately understood. But the trigger word... "Is it war?" The even bigger flinch made it clear what the problem was. You said sorry to him over and over for your blunt question but the apologies were waved away by him. {It's okay. But I must ask you not to ask more questions- at least until I am ready to tell you.} You were curious, sure, but common sense told you not to pry. Besides, you were thankful that he would even tell you someday. It was quite a sensitive subject, one that you would not share with someone you didn't trust. You felt honoured to be trusted on that kind of level by him.

You got up early the next day. Even if you hated the school, you didn't want to be late on the first day of school. Your homeroom was extremely foreboding, with no one there yet. You sat in the frone seat, as always, and read a book until classes started. You didn't know why everybody was suddenly staring at you like you caught a contagious disease, but you figured this was a new way of bullying.

No one bothered you until lunchtime passed. Most of the students ate at the cafeteria, so you opted to go to the small, unused changing room to eat your packed lunch. Grillby hadn't used lunch bags; he packed it in a small plastic box. The smell was amazing. You opened it to find a sandwich, prepared exactly as you like. You dug into the food with relish. It was perfect until then; you got your hopes up.

You shouldn't have done that.

One of the few friends that you had, Jane, whispered to you that a rumor was going on that you were sleeping with a monster(probably Grillby). You were outraged, of course, but it didn't stop the rest of the student body staring at you with varying degrees of disgust, horror and hatred. The number of people that were neutral or on your side was quite less than the actively hating part. So, you should have probably expected the assault later on. You were always careful to avoid the gang, but this time they snuck up on you- probably for the element of surprise.

When classes ended-at last!-, you bolted for the door. You had no wish to stay in such a hostile place for long. You had the option of taking the main road or through the forest. You chose the forest because it was the shorter way to home, and because the forest had a calming effect on you. You stopped running as you passed some of the trees, catching your breath. You slowly started your way again back to home. A few minutes later, you heard footsteps behind you. When your brain registered that fact enough for you to turn around, you were pinned to the nearest tree by your neck. The person who was holding you was Peter, one of the biggest bulies in school. You tried to twist out of his grip, but he only tightened his hold, making you choke. You were effectively immobile with no way out of the situation. He leered at you. You decided to ignore him.

"Hey, Ms. Smartypants. I heard that you're a whore for the monsters?" When you didn't answer, he loosened his grip only to grab your both hands above your head. You coughed madly, restoring your damaged circulation. You still didn't answer. You thought you saw a flash of blue but when you blinked, it was gone.

"Soo... no answer? I'll take that as a yes." When you shook your head violently, Peter chuckled darkly. "Don't worry, I like my girls rebellious. It makes it so fun when they finally bend to my wills." You were confused, but understood the meaning instantly when his lips came crashing down on yours. You sputtered, but it only led to his tounge entering your mouth. His hands, which previously held your hands in place, began to move. One hand still pinned you to the tree but the other roughly groped you. You were horrified, afraid and scared. You bit down on his tounge accidentally, and he pulled back with a grunt of pain.

"The fuck.." Peter struck your cheek and you choked back a scream. He slapped you a few more times and whispered in your ear. "You try that one more tine, girl, and you'll regret it, okay?" You spit in his face in responce. He slowly wiped it off and glared at you. "You chose this path, you little slut." Soon more people appeared, all men. They formed a half-ring. Your eyes grew bigger, as you realized the whole meaning of this incident. You screamed for help to be cut off seconds later by another kiss. As you desperately struggled, you saw something orange flickering at the corner of your vision. Hope flaring up, you freed yourself of the kiss and yelled for help once again. You could stand some more kicks and punches if Grillby could come and save you. The orange rapidly started getting closer. Suddenly, there were screams reverberating all around the circle. Peter cried out and released you. You crumbled to the ground. There stood Grillby, fire burning intensely. Most of the circle had fled, leaving some stragglers who ran when they saw Grillby with fire running up his arm. He also held a white-edged orange fireball in his left palm. Peter staggered to his feet, nursing a slightly burnt shoe. He cursed and tried to threaten Grillby. A terribly idiotic thing to do, ans Grillby prepared to throw his fireball. You felt you had to step in.

"Peter, go." You rasped. "Go now, and I will not sue you. Or risk getting sued or being burnt to a crisp." At those words he paled and ran too. Only you and Grillby were left. He ran to your side immediately after looking around for more threats. He gathered you up in his arms, picked up your backpack and began running. He was quite gentle and warm, and you relaxed into his arms, closing your eyes. Grillby seemed surprised by this, because he slightly tensed before holding you more closely to himself. You opened your eyes slightly. You were going at quite a fast pace, almost so that the surroundings were a little blurred. Grillby soon stopped in front of the bar. Sans came out and touched Grillby. They took a step, and suddenly you were in his living room. When Grillby gently tried to set you down, you clung to him. Being in his arms made you somehow feel safe. He stiffened, but instead of putting you down, he sat down on the sofa with you still in his arms. The tears soon came flooding. You sobbed into his chest, the years of pain, anguish and sorrow crashing down that moment.

You probabaly cried yourself to sleep, because the next time you opened your eyes, sunlighr was streaming through the windows, and you were alone on the sofa. Sitting up, you found a short note taped next to where your head was.  
{Please stay here. Your school has been notified.}  
Those two sentences made you a little fearful of what was to come. Neverthless, you did exactly that, staying put in your seat on the sofa. After twenty minutes of reading _'To Kill A Mockingbird'_ that was on the small table next to the sofa, Grillby appeared. He was wearing his usual waiter clothes. When he saw you sitting up, he quickly stepped over to gather you up in his arms. His hug was warm and comforting, and you relaxed into his embrace.

"Hey." You whispered to him. "All right?" There was a sharp crackling sound which made you start a little. The pressure increased as Grillby hugged you more tightly. You could feel his shoulders slightly shaking. Was he actually..? You pulled back slightly to see his face.

Grillby was crying. At least, that's what it looked like. White tear-tracks were forming over his face. You were surprised to see them. "G-Grillby? Why are you crying? Grillby?" He shook his head, still wordlessly dripping white tears. You reached out and gently wiped them off his face. Despite its look, the tears weren't hot- just a little more warmer than his body. He tensed under your touch, but when you showed him that you weren't hurt, he relaxed. So, like that, you comforted the crying fire monster until he gently let go of you. He wrote something on a post-it on the coffee table. {Please rest here for today. I will deal with them.} You instinctively knew who 'them' meant. You took his hand in your hands. "Okay... But please don't kill them, alright?" He slightly nodded, fire burning a deep red. He went downstairs after that, leaving you alone in the house. But, unlike the years before, you didn't feel lonely.


	7. Valentines and Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School goes on. Valentines approach. Grillby is acting strangely. And you recieve a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay.  
> I tried uploading this chapter three times. THREE. EFFING. TIMES.  
> And I am writing this for the third time.  
> I cannot tell you enough how sorry I am for making you wonderful people wait for five months. In my defense, I was absolutely swamped with schoolwork, exams(f**k you physics), a too-short-two-week summer holiday, and more holiday homework& studying. Writer's block was also a factor. I have two days left until my holidays ends, so I will make use of it as much as I can.
> 
> *I am deleting the hiatus notice on Ch.6.  
> **Making some changes 21/8/2016 ref. to www.bls.gov

Time passed since the assault. You didn't know what Grillby did, but the attackers kept their distance from you. The others in school still avoided you also-but some shortened their distance in pity. You disliked them. You didn't want pity, you wanted someone of your species to understand and talk with you. But nobody was there for that.

It gradually neared February. The cold winter lessened its grip on the world, and somehow warmed people too. The kids in your school became more kinder as time flowed by, and you were more peaceful than last year. You even tried making some friends, and surprisingly, you suceeded! It seemed that the rumors strenghthened their beliefs in you. They believed that you were not that kind of person the rumors made you out to be.

About a week and some days before Valentine's day, you spotted Grillby acting strangely. He disappeared for an hour or two, leaving you to tend to the bar at afternoons. Even if he left you strict instructions to not touch the stove, and not to serve food or drinks to anybody, this was highly unusual for him, as he was a devoted worker. Every time he did that, Sans would smile knowingly at you. You had no idea why, and when you finally cracked after four straight days of disappearances with no reasons, he laughed it off.

"you really don't know, kid?" You shook your head violently. Sans chuckled. "slow down there, your head's gonna rib off. but, seriously, kid? it's so clear that even i can see it." You still said no, and Sans grinned widely. "oh man this is sooooo funny. just you wait and see." You groaned at his pun, and then caught the subtle meaning that he knew what Grillby was doing. You tried to pry the words out of him, but failed. Sans avoided your persistent chase by teleporting to who-knows-where. You buried your face in your hands. Thank god it was the time when few customers came to the bar.

Two days before Valentine's, you were as happy as you could be. Friday was the day before weekends, and two whole days of rest from school! You went to school with a spring in your step. The people there seemed more energitic than ever, and you weren't bothered by anyone yet. At school, you talked with your three newfound friends. They gave you hope that monsters and humans could still live in harmony. During lunchtime, you sat together. The topic of Valentine was inevitable.

"Hey, Claire- how's it going for you and Jonas? Any plans for this weekend?" James, dreaming for a girlfriend, was always interested in couples around him. In this case, Claire and Jonas were the item. They had been going out for over a year. They went to different schools, but were still together. Claire responded with a happy smile plastered on her face. "We're going to go on a date- we've been planning this for weeks! Still spending the days alone, James?" James mock-pouted. "It's not my fault the ladies fail to see my charm." You just sighed, thinking about the fiery barkeep. Claire caught onto the sound. "Hey, what's wrong? You look so down today."

"Oh, nothing. Just my monster friend acting strangely these days. I mean, he's a workaholic, but he's been going out during his workdays recently. I don't know what has come over him." You sighed. James looked up from his sandwiches.  
"You don't know? Really?"  
"Yeah,and one of my monster friends also said the same thing, so if you know the reason, just tell me why." As you said those words, you got a bad feeling. James smiled like an angel.  
"Why would I?"  
You were already cranky enough because of that topic when you heard that answer. You polished off your lunch quickly, packing it away. James did so too, anticipating your moves. You slowly rose from your seat.

"James, you little devil!" You chased him until you were both out of breath. James was still panting when he spoke to you.  
"I wouldn't worry if I were you, though."  
"But why?" You sighed, half-pouting.  
"That's a secret, but really! Don't worry." James grinned at you. Then you saw his wristwatch.  
"Oh my god, it's five minutes before the next class begins! Let's go, James!" You took off once again, leaving James in your wake.

You ran home as soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of another day. Grillby welcomed you with flickers of the flames on his head. He seemed more enthuastic than before when he just looked up and nodded- the colors actually changed. It was quite sweet to see the colors change from normal orange to split-second blinding white before settling on slightly more happier golden yellow. You grinned at him, and went up to the upper landings to get your laptop for your homework.

{How was your day?} Grillby asked you while cleaning a glass in front of you. You slowly sipped a cup of milk while pondering over it. "Great, no one tried to ambush me or something. It's probably because Valentine's are so close." He nodded with a slightly different color- one that you couldn't exactly pinpoint. You felt comforted anyways. But then, you suddenly felt the urge to ask him about his unusual behavior during the past week.

"Grillby," you said, "why have you been disappearing now and then? It's not that I can't handle it -you don't allow me to do anything anyways- but it's strange." Grillby stiffened for a moment. He looked at you, hand poised to write something, and paused for a second before writing {It's nothing. I had to run some errands.}  
You frowned. "Yeah, great, but you don't usually leave the shop for long times. Or am I mistaken?"  
{Don't worry about it.} He wrote. {I'll tell you soon. Will you} he crossed out the words hurriedly and scribbled {I beg your patience. I will tell you, but not now.}

You sighed. "You know, everyone- no. Forget it. Three days. I'll give you three days to explain yourself. And you'd better give me good reasons then." Grillby nodded, patted your hand and went back to cleaning glasses. You sighed and started typing again. This essay was due next Tuesday, and you wanted to get over it as fast as possible. However, with all these secrets that apparently only you didn't know, you couldn't concentrate. You went to the restroom to wash your face and clear your head. While gazing in the mirror above the basin, you recalled everything you had been told about Grillby's sudden disappearing act. Come to think of it, Valentine was coming up...

Your face heated up as you realized something. Grillby was a male monster. And **Valentines**. God, why had you been so thick? He was probably preparing something for... for whom? You got stumped there. You hadn't seen any indicators that he was close with a female monster. Or mabye he wanted this to be a surprise? You felt a sudden pang of something that you couldn't identify. You mulled this over, but no answers came. When you returned to your seat near the counter, you found your half-written essay staring at you. You groaned and started working on it.

Saturday night found you studying upstairs. You had had a filling dinner with homemade pizza, so you were dangerously close to falling asleep. You felt your eyes closing, and made a valiant effort to stay awake. You had a moment of clarity when you half-stumbled to the bathroom for a quick wash, but the drowsiness returned full-force after the shower. You just got to the sofa as you collapsed haphazardly on the soft thing. You were asleep in seconds, and never noticed Grillby coming back from the bar. He smiled a little at your figure sprawled on the sofa, and gently lifted you off it. He then carried you into his room, placed you under the covers of his bed and turned off the light.  
 _"...Sweet dreams."_ It was barely a whisper. A small crackle. It wasn't even in English. But your lips curved upwards in your sleep as if you had heard his voice.

The next morning, you woke up to the sensation of warm fluffiness. Rubbing your eyes, you got up- and found that you had covers on your body. Looking around, you quickly concluded that this was Grillby's room. Had you sleepwalked? You hadn't done that before, so then Grillby brought you here? But why did the room smell like roses? You looked at the bedside table and saw a single rose in a beautiful glass vase. There was a note next to it. You picked it up, still a little surprised about the turn of events. It read 'A Happy Valentine's Day' in Grillby's flowing handwriting.

Oh.

You felt tears well up in your eyes. Grillby chose that moment to come in the room with your clothes in his hand. Upon his arrival, you started to cry in earnest, big fat drops of tears rolling down your face. Grillby seemed like he didn't know what to do; he ran you your side with the clothes still in his arms. He placed then on the bed and gently held your shaking frame. You cried and cried until there were no more tears to cry, while remembering your thoughts from two days before. You felt like such a fool, believing that you didn't deserve this.

You had never gotten a Valentine's Day gift before, and you could count the number of birthday celebrations that you had had in your memory. So when a monster that you had known for about two months gave you this present, you were overwhelmed. You sniffled and spoke.

"S-sorry Grillby..." The fiery man shook his head, lights dimming. He grabbed a pen and paper from the bedside table and scribbled something on it, giving it to you. {Why? Is there something wrong?}  
You gave him a watery smile. "No. No, there isn't. I'm just... I don't feel like I deserve this, I mean I was surprised and I thought you were, I, I..." Your voice started to tremble again, and your last words came out in a near sob. "I don't want to be a burden on you!"  
Grillby stiffened a little. In his haste to assure you,his writing became a little sloppy. {You are not a burden. You will never be. You saved my life, and I like having you around. You're great. I really mean this.}  
You read the paper through puffy eyes and managed a small smile. "Thanks, Grillby..." Seeing the clothing on the bed, you blushed a little. "Um, can I change?"  
Grillby got up immediately. He was blushing lightly too. He wrote that breakfast was ready before backing out of the room, shutting the door behind him. You shivered a little. He had been in for what seemed like just a few minutes, but you'd gotten warmer. You changed quickly and shuffled out of the bed to tidy up a bit.

Breakfast was warm when you got there; the smell of freshly baked bread and scrambled eggs was intoxicating. You approached the table. There were small buns in a basket, and two platters of eggs and bacon were present. You sat down on a chair; Grillby, holding a jug of milk,set it down and took a seat. You both started eating at the same time. The buns were absolutely delicious, and you found that they had chocolate inside. It was pure bliss.

After breakfast, the two of you sat on the sofa, you speaking and Grillby writing. He wrote all that he had promised you: he had tried to find a monster-friendly resturant, cinema, and buy flowers. He had succeeded in all three. He held out two tickets.  
{I thought you would like to see one.} You sqealed out a yes. The last time you went to the movies was three years ago. You tidied up yourself while Grillby donned his clothes. When he came out of his room, you stared for a bit. Grillby in his dapper barkeep clothes was good, but this look on him was almost perfect. Even if you couldn't see his exact face he had that 'feel' of looking good. He gave you a small card.  
{Shall we go?}  
"Yes," you whispered, and grasped his coat sleeve with your hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're going to the movies~~~~  
> And Grillby speaks.  
> He **speaks**.  
>  Wooooohoooo!!!!


	8. Movies and Dinners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to the movies. You have lunch, and you meet two special people at Grillby's bar. Your monster network expands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone. I'm back after a very long hiatus. I really am terribly sorry for this; I didn't expect school life to be this burdening. And, I think I will soon go insane from the amount of homework I have to do for all my academies. It's winter break now, and German is killing me(I'm taking ZD B1 level after a year of studying the language. I SUCK at grammar), math is killing me(**** you calculus), Korean and Chemistry just add to the ever-growing pile of stress.

Grillby walked quietly beside you. He was like a walking heater, so you sidled up against him. His warmth was a comforting presence: you were more relaxed when he was close to you, more than any other person. You wouldn't touch him of your free will, but you couldn't help feeling warm and fuzzy when he hugged you. Sure, you were wary of touching or being touched, but strangely this man of fire was different. It was like being near a big teddy bear, one that was really plushy and soft-a feat that even your parents didn't achieve. You smiled just a little at the thought.

Soon you arrived at the cinema, a cozy little place with some monsters wandering. Grillby got your tickets out, you bought popcorns, and were soon seated in the theater.  
"Grillby," you whispered. "Thank you for everything. I mean it."  
You saw Grillby getting slightly brighter. He gve you a nod in return. The film started.

After the movie, you moved to have lunch at a fancy restaurant. It was a lavish place; you'd never been to restaurants like this, so you drank the view in. The food was even better. It was a warm and filling course. As you ate, you noticed that Grillby didn't have a mouth. Well, he was eating the food, but he just sucked it up. Or whatever was going on. You forgot about your plate, staring at him. As you stopped eating, Grillby looked up, and your eyes met. He turned a shade purple. You blinked, a bit surprised at his color change. What was he feeling?  
"That's how you eat? Cool." The words were out of your mouth before you could stop it. A second later, you clapped a hand to your mouth and looked down, embarrassed. That was a _totally_ inconsiderate question. You heard some sort of crackling noise, like wood being burned, and a hint of laughter. Grillby was covering his mouth with his hand, writing with the other.  
{I was, for a second, worried about your reaction. This isn't how people normally eat, isn't it?}  
"How come I haven't noticed until now?" You thought out loud. Grillby burned a bit more brighter. He was definitely amused.  
{I've been eating when you weren't. Today, I just matched your pace as much as I could.}  
"Oh." You muttered. "Maybe I have been a burden to you."  
{No!} Grillby scribbled. {It is nothing. I have been used to this way of eating. It is no big matter.}  
"Well if you say so..." You mumbled, not sure about his reply. Grillby inclined his head.

Throughout the meal, soft piano music could be heard in the background. You hummed a little, wondering what the name of the song was. You must have said that out loud, because Grillby picked up his pen, writing something on a piece of napkin.  
{Salut d'amour Op.12 by Edward Edgar. Do you like it?}  
"Yes!" You nodded enthusiastically. "It's beautiful. How did you know the name?"  
Grillby paused for a moment. {Humans throw away a lot of things. I salvaged some piano sheets.}  
"Oh..." You quieted, silently finishing your meal. You had forgotten that Grillby had lived a long time underground.

After the meal, the two of you went back to the bar. A quiet but content silence settled over the walk. You were contemplating what Grillby did for you today. You had never received something like this before on Valentine's Day. Grillby was quickly assuming a role as being your 'first time'. You smiled at the thought. The words made you happy in a special way. As Grillby opened the door for you, you curtsied and entered the bar. It was strange seeing the bar with its light off at the time. The bar was always open around lunch, even on weekends. You sat on a stool while Grillby busied himself with preparations. The lights came on, and you turned the sign on the door from 'closed' to 'open'. Soon customers began to come in. Dogamy and Dogaressa were the first, wearing happy smiles on their faces.

"Hi, Dogamy! Hi, Dogaressa!" You waved to them from your stool. They returned the sentiment, claiming a seat to the side. You hopped off your seat to talk with them. While the pair regaled you with their tales of what they did for the past few days, Grillby came by with their order. As soon as he left, Dogaressa whispered to you.  
"So, anything happened to you, dear? It's Valentine's Day, after all. Any boys you interested in come by?"  
You felt your face heat up. You wanted to show off the treatment you received, but something told you that you should keep it a secret. Instead, you shook your head no.  
"Nah, no boys. I never had an interest in the dating department anyway."  
The dogs simultaneously gasped. "But surely, a girlie like you must have men following everywhere!"  
You shivered. "Eww, everywhere? That's a bit creepy."  
"No, but really, you're an amazing person to hang out with! Why wouldn't they?"  
You hesitated at Dogamy's question. Seeing that, Dogaressa quickly put a piece of meat inside his mouth, effectively shutting him up. You sighed gratefully.

Time flew by until it was almost evening. You were sitting by the bar for the most of the time save for some occasions when someone you knew came in. Just then, Sans paid a visit, asking for a bottle of ketchup. You choked a little on a cup of hot chocolate as he chugged the sauce straight from the tube.  
"*why, girlie? never seen me drink this stuff? you should _ketchup_ with me often." He cracked a smile. You could only stare.  
"Was that a pun? Really?"  
Sans just kept smiling. When he set the tube down, he leaned in to speak quietly.  
"*so, how was today? grillby treat you good?"  
You felt your face flame up. The skeleton was still smiling, albeit with a more mischievous hint.  
"How did you know?" You hissed. Sans shrugged causally. "*grillby asked me for help. never seen him do something for anybody, but then he's been around longer than me."  
"Oh. So that's what you wouldn't tell me when I asked?"  
"*uh-huh. so, how was it?"  
You couldn't help blushing. "The best thing that happened to me in the past few years. I really enjoyed myself today. I couldn't have asked for more."  
Sans downed his ketchup in one go. "*that's a relief. well then, i'll get going. came to check on you guys anyway."  
Sans hopped off the stool and strode to the door. When he was almost at the door, he looked back at you. "*hey, and if you see a yellow dino and a blue fish monster, say hi for me, will ya?" You said okay and watched him go, swirling your cup. It was strange to think that someone as small as he could be scary. As you mulled the thought over, the door opened again, and there stood a yellow dinosaur with glasses and a blue-skinned humanoid monster. Your jaw dropped open. Could they be the ones Sans had mentioned? The pair walked over to where Sans had been occupying mere minutes before and sat down. Grillby silently took their orders. You channeled your confidence.  
"Er, um... hi?"  
"Oh h-hello!" The dinosaur answered, smiling nervously. "Wh-who are you?"  
You introduced yourself to the couple. "Do you, by any chance, know a skeleton named Sans?"  
"Yeah, we do. What's the matter?" The blue woman asked. She had a rough voice. You shivered unconsciously. "Um, he told me to say hi to you...? But he just gave me a description on how you look, so I don't know your names?"  
The woman snorted. "HAH! And he told ya to just say hi? Well, tell him next time I'm gonna kick his ass for doing that. Anyway, nice to meet ya, punk. Sans' friends are my friends. Name's Undyne."  
"A-and I'm Alphys." The dinosaur stuttered out. You smiled at them and stuck your hand out for them to shake. Undyne's grip was strong enough to break your hand, while Alphys' was soft and unsure. Soon food arrived in front of the pair. You also received a plate; grilled salmon and salad. You flashed a big smile at Grillby who nodded at you before turning to another customer. The pair's eyes widened.  
"Oooh, you the girlie Grillby's been looking after?" Undyne cackled. You blushed a bit.  
"How-?"  
"The rumor mill's been running for quite a while, girlie. Never seen Grillbs there with a human before! And suddenly he's living with a human. Ya know, sudden jumps?"  
Undyne waggled her eyebrows. Alphys tentatively smiled before nudging her partner in her ribs. Undyne protested before succumbing to Alphys and picking up her fork. As they began eating, you noticed a ring on both of their hands. Alphys looked up, saw you staring, and followed your gaze. She blushed.  
"Oh, we-we're engaged! Just sa-saying."  
"Have a problem with that, punk?" Undyne glared at you. You hurriedly flapped your hands in a placating manner. "No, no I don't! I, um... was curious. Sorry if I upset you!"  
Undyne harrumphed and returned to her meal. You let out a relieved sigh and dived into your dinner.

The pair of them were actually fun to talk with. Alphys was a good listener and Undyne filled up any blank in a conversation easily. They had some fun tales to tell, and you, in turn, told them of school with your almost-friends. You all got a good laugh out of a particularly funny story about Sans on the year before's Halloween. According to Alphys, he'd earned almost double his usual income that day acting as the resident skeleton at a spooked house. Apparently he had played the role so well that he'd been invited to do the work again last year.  
"I kinda think he'll do it again this year." Undyne chuckled. "It damn suits him, I say!"  
"L-language, Undyne!" Alphys reprimanded her. Undyne said a sheepish sorry to her and you. You waved away her apology; you've heard worse, after all.  
At last, the pair readied to leave. Alphys pulled out a piece of paper and pen. She wrote a phone number on it, giving the paper to you.  
"Th-that's my phone number, so i-if you want to call, give us one. What about you?"  
You stared at the paper, embarrassment arising inside yourself. You actually didn't have a mobile, not since you left your home. While other people used all kinds of smartphones, you had been stuck with an ancient cellphone for over five years. You'd ditched it when you made your escape. It wasn't like you had friends to keep in touch with anyway. You told them that your regretfully didn't have a phone. Alphys' jaw dropped open.  
"R-really?! Well, I c-can give you one then."  
You gaped. Did she just say that she would **GIVE** you a phone? This is a joke. It should. But Alphys was writing something underneath her phone number.  
"Now, t-this is our address, so s-stop by tomorrow and we-we'll see about your phone. I-I'll let you choose what you like. Okay?"  
You gave her your heartfelt thanks. You'd gotten so much presents today that it almost felt like it was your birthday. You were practically giddy with happiness. After they left, you stayed up until it was one in the morning, when the bar closes up. As Grillby cleaned up, you lent him a hand as much as you could. When he finished, you held out your hand. Grillby looked confused, as he tilted his head to one side. You gave out a quiet laugh.  
"Escort me upstairs, good sir?"  
There was the burning sound of amusement again, and the man of flames took your hand in his. You walked to your home with a bubbly feeling inside your belly. This year, you had a good feeling about your fortunes. Even if you didn't have many friends, who cares? You were free from your parents, found a place to live, made some monster friends. Now, the only thing worrying you was your school. You had a dream to fulfill, and you were going to do your best to make it come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who has read this chapter to the end: thank you. I thank everyone who has taken their time reading this fic. I know my English isn't perfect, it's my second language and I unfortunately don't have a beta reader. If you have found any grammatical errors, please tell me via comments; I will try to fix it. Thank you again.


	9. Traumatic Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are finally going to be free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I've carefully thought about what I wanted, and what I could write. And I decided that a legal story is way out of my league. With this chapter, I am reverting back to the fluffy storyline. But beware of some law related dialouges in this-and next-chapter!

The day was bright and clear, adding to your buoyant mood. An new phone! You could hardly believe your luck. Alphys and Undyne seemed like they were good people, and you wanted to get to know them more. You started at your own thought. You'd changed a lot over the few months you lived with the monsters. You weren't that afraid of new people now. The issue with touching was slowly fading away, but you were still wary of people your parents' age. However, life felt more richer than before with the monsters in it. You smiled as you skipped out of home, headed to school.

School was too long for you. As the bell rang, you packed up your belongings and quickly left the classroom. Or, at least you tried to. The teacher called out your name as you rushed by. You stopped dead in your tracks. Why did the vice principal want to see you? Surely, you had done nothing wrong. 

You slowly walked to his office, dread clawing at your insides. Voices floated out from the closed door. You knocked, and someone called out for you to enter. There the vice principal sat, with-

You took a step back. Why were they here? Why did they come to school? Why? _Why?_ Too many why's swirled around your head as you gazed in shock at your parents. It was a rare occasion enough to see them in the same space, but for them to sit side-by-side as parents? You felt weak in the knees. Your father looked relieved to see you, but you detected the undercurrent of malice in his smile. The vice principal was saying something about running off; it didn't register in your mind. You just stood there like a stone until a rough hand grabbed your wrist. You trembled in fear as your mother half-dragged you from the room, father right behind her. She whispered in your ear that they had many things planned for a disobedient little brat who doesn't listen to her parents. You were terrified. Calling the police was not an option, so you raked your brain to find a way to escape. Finding none, you resorted to the old-fashioned method: you screamed for help.

"Shut up, useless!"

Something was shoved into your mouth. You tried in vain to spit it out, but a hand clamped down on it. Fighting was out of the question, so you had no choice but to give up. Or so you thought. Unbeknownst to you, Sans had offered to take a shortcut to Alphys' house. He had just fizzed into reality when he heard your scream and it getting cut off. He then witnessed you getting dragged by your parents to a car. Sans took a step forward.

You were done. It was no use now; you would never get to see anybody in the monster town again, not Grillby, not Dogamy and Dogaressa, not Sans, not Alphys and Undyne. _Grillby._ You would never see him again. Tears started to fall freely from your eyes as you remembered yesterday's memories and realized that would never happen again. As your parents shoved you into a car, you felt them freeze. Bewildered, you looked at them. They were struggling against invisible bonds, bonds that were faintly glowing blue. You almost choked on the gag as you saw the figure behind them.

"*heh, i was getting worried, kid."

You finally spit out the gag as Sans pulled back your parents. They landed a few feet away. The following cursing was cut short when they saw Sans. Meanwhile said monster had gotten hold of you. You mother started to scream, and that was when Sans decided to use his shortcut. He took a big step which led you two to Grillby's flat. As soon as you caught sight of the familiar sofa, you kicked ff your shoes, immediately stumbled to it and flopped down. The relief was staggering. You mumbled a thanks to Sans, grabbed a nearby pillow and started to cry into it. Your parents had shaken you badly. You thought you had escaped them when you left the house, and now- now desolation crept around your mind. Everything seemed hopeless. If they had enough sense to try to get you at school, it wouldn't be a problem for them to try to follow you to Grillby's. And then? Would they try to hurt Grillby? The man who cared so much for you, a stranger and a human to boot?

You had to get out of this place. If they found out where you were, everybody around you would be in danger. That was a risk you weren't going to take. You tried to get up, but your legs felt like they were turning into jelly. Now that you had calmed down a little, the exhaustion from the almost-fight came crashing down on you. You decided to take a quick nap before you left. After all, Grillby wouldn't close until one in the morning. If you got up in an hour or so, you could pack and leave with plenty of time to spare.

Apparently you were wrong. When you blinked sleep from your eyes, you saw a familiar orange flickering by your side, softly holding your hand. A blanket was thrown over you, and it was dark outside. You opened your eyes wide. Why was  it so dark? And why was Grillby here? You slowly got yourself into a sitting position.

"Grillby?" It was more of an whisper, but the man had heard you. His flames were in shades of dark orange and red. The perfectly trimmed flames were erratically flickering. "What time is it? Is the bar closed?"

{It's nine. I have come up to check on you. Sans is tending to the bar.}

You let out a small exclamation, and tried to tell him that he needn't to. Grillby shushed you while he wrote something on his memo pad.

{Sans told me that you were being abducted. What happened?}

What happened. What should you tell him? That your parents tried to take you away? Would he believe you? You thought for a while, considering the outcomes. Yes, it would be best if you told the truth. He already knew about your parents anyway. You took a deep breath and explained the short tussle with your parents today. Grillby's flames got redder as he heard your stuttered recounting of the incident.

{You should notify the police.} He wrote with a certain urgency. {They will stop your parents from contacting you.}

You laughed bitterly. "The police won't do anything. I tried when I was twelve. Guess what happened? Nothing. Life was more hellish after that visit."

{Then contact the law enforcement. Or social services. This has to stop.}

"*hey. i can deal with that. grillbz, there's a patron down there who wants something that i couldn't understand. check on him?"

Sans' sudden appearance scared the shit out of you. You yelped and burrowed into Grillby's side. Grillby awkwardly held you in his arms for a bit before he nodded and stood up. As he straightened his clothes, you tried to grab him, but you knew it was futile. Grillby left, leaving Sans behind. The skeleton shifted nervously.

"*so, kid. i know a lawyer with experience in these kind of things. do you want to receive his help? he has helped one of my friends before, and the result was okay."

You thought for a moment before consenting. It was better than nothing, right? Sans looked relieved.

"*all right, we'll go to the police by shortcut and first report them. i'll call the lawyer. sounds good?"

You nodded and got up. Sans took hold of your sleeve. You both took a step forward, and now stood in front of a relatively small police station. You breathed in and pushed the door open. The two officers inside looked up from their desks. One of them gasped and the other fumbled a bit before running to you. She guided you and Sans to a seat.

"Okay, what happened, miss? You look like you've had a big fight." She looked sideways at Sans as she spoke. You shook your head and proceeded to tell them the day's events. The officer in front of you asked you if you had a falling out with your parents. That broke the dam. You started on a long rambling talk about your parents. You didn't notice Sans quietly talking on his phone or the cop recording the conversation. When you were finished, it was almost ten and you were spent. The officer let out a long sigh.

"Alright, miss. I'll see what I can do. Do you need a place to stay, or do you have one?"

"I'm staying at a friend's house. Is it okay if I don't tell you where it is? He- well, I don't want to bother him."

"Yeah, it's your choice. Give me your phone number, and I'll keep you updated."

Your face fell. You remembered Alphys' words that she would give you a new phone. While you struggled to give an answer, Sans saved the day by giving her his number. He promised her that as soon as you got your phone he would give her your number. You agreed to that, relieved. 

As you left the station, an elderly man approached you. You immediately stepped back, but Sans reached out to shake hands with him as if they were friends. It was strange seeing the tall man greeting Sans, as the hight difference was easily noticeable.

"Good to see you, Mr. Sans!"

"*heh, long time no see, Mr. Edelmann. business doing well?"

"Sans? Is this the lawyer you told me?" You nervously asked the skeleton. Mr. Edelmann turned to you with a grandfatherly smile. Up close he looked like a kind old man with graying hair.

"So this is the young lady I was asked to meet! Charming. And what might be your name, m'lady?"

You hesitantly told him your name. Mr. Edelmann was a classical gentleman. He invited you into his heated car, which you reluctantly accepted because of the cold weather. He heard the abbreviated version of your story, and suggested a few things to do. You were a bit stumped because you had zero knowledge in law, but Mr. Edelmann watered it down so you could understand it. You got the general idea, which was to collect enough evidence of your parents' abuse to file a protection order under the DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT 1995. As it was getting late, the three of you agreed on a later date to meet again. Sans took you home, home where the warmth of Grillby would light up the room.

As soon as you set foot in the dark house, you made a beeline to the bathroom- a hot shower was in need. You let out a contented moan when the water hit your back. It seemed to wash your pain and tiredness away. As you showered, you thought about everything that happened today. It was kind of overwhelming. You were finally leaving your parents, the people who raised you, and venturing into a whole new life. What would you do now? You pondered that question while you dried yourself off and changed clothes. Once you hit the sofa, sleep overtook you faster than light.

When Grillby came upstairs after closing the bar, you were already out. He let out a weary breath as he took in your form. You must have looked tired, for he once again tried to lift you to his room. At that moment, your brain decided that you should wake up. Sleepy eyes met fire, and you mumbled a welcome home without knowing what you were saying. Grillby stiffened, but still held you while you squirmed a bit and returned to dreamland. He tucked you in and retired for the night, wishing to the stars that the next day would be more peaceful than the day before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know much about the law system, so don't use this fic for legal advice!


End file.
